Environmental Protection through Research

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has been assigned a statutory role to co-ordinate national environmental research. The EPA research programme for the period 2007-2013 (entitled Science, Technology, Research and Innovation for the Environment (STRIVE)) was carefully planned to provide significant support for policy and decision-making at national, regional and local level in areas such as Climate Change, Water and Sustainable Development. This research has already been critical in improving Ireland’s ability to negotiate successfully on international agreements. Furthermore, there are also a number of notable positive commercial impacts that have been realised to underpin the green economy.